Panagora Asset Management Inc. Sells 498,119 Shares of ConocoPhillips $COP

Panagora Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) by 61.9% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 306,879 shares of the energy producer’s stock after selling 498,119 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in ConocoPhillips were worth $27,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in ConocoPhillips by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 40,382,724 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,623,946,000 after buying an additional 287,970 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in ConocoPhillips by 1.4% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 31,610,608 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $3,319,746,000 after acquiring an additional 437,709 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of ConocoPhillips by 30.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 8,972,545 shares of the energy producer’s stock valued at $942,297,000 after purchasing an additional 2,080,625 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 15.1% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 8,202,861 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $861,490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073,906 shares during the period. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA increased its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 66.0% in the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 7,883,455 shares of the energy producer’s stock worth $707,461,000 after purchasing an additional 3,135,315 shares during the period. 82.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COP has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $108.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Roth Capital cut their price target on ConocoPhillips from $108.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of ConocoPhillips from $122.00 to $117.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of ConocoPhillips to $113.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of ConocoPhillips from $117.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 8th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.16.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director William H. Mcraven bought 5,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $86.68 per share, for a total transaction of $499,970.24. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 5,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $499,970.24. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

ConocoPhillips Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of COP stock opened at $90.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $89.86 and a 200-day moving average of $91.77. The stock has a market cap of $111.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.58. ConocoPhillips has a 52-week low of $79.88 and a 52-week high of $108.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.27.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The energy producer reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.20. ConocoPhillips had a net margin of 15.26% and a return on equity of 14.60%. The business had revenue of $15.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ConocoPhillips Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a $0.84 dividend. This represents a $3.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. This is a boost from ConocoPhillips’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. ConocoPhillips’s payout ratio is currently 47.52%.

ConocoPhillips Profile

ConocoPhillips explores for, produces, transports, and markets crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and natural gas liquids in the United States, Canada, China, Libya, Malaysia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company's portfolio includes unconventional plays in North America; conventional assets in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia; global LNG developments; oil sands assets in Canada; and an inventory of global exploration prospects.